Just my imagination

(If you could talk to a favorite character in a book, what would you say? Just my imagination is a weekly blog that gives small glimpses into the world of Andrea Johnson’s books, and the characters that make her words come to life. Just my imagination posts can be seen every Friday, showcasing new characters and their turbulent thoughts, from questions posed by the author.)

Character: Damien Jones. Book: His Nuclear Requiem

Character role: A man that is not only tormented by the mistakes of his past, he walks with the merciless burden of being the reason for the planet’s uncertain future.

Question from the author: How can you live with the pain?

Damien Jones: What kind of question is that? What other choice do I have? What I’ve become is not something I can walk into a corner store and buy a few tools that will suddenly create an off switch! You have no idea what it means to live like this.

No idea how it feels to lie to the people you care about day in and out. And to feel nothing, and never allow yourself to breathe. How can I live with the pain? All I have to do is remember what I did. The fool I was so many years ago, and what would happen to every living soul if I so much as blink. I look in the mirror, and what I see there…yeah…I have to live with it. I have no other choice.